


Turning Ink [REWRITE]

by screamingsting



Series: Turning Ink AU Rewrite [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Everybody hates Joey, Fix-It, Gore warning, Henry’s last name isn’t Stein in this it’s Ross, Ink Gore, Joey is a moron, Multi, Rewrite, Sammy is gay af, The toons come to life, headcanons galore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21739873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screamingsting/pseuds/screamingsting
Summary: Henry and Sammy have been working together since the start of the studio, growing closer by the day. When Joey Drew orders a strange machine to be built, things start to grow dangerous for the both of them and tensions start to rise.(Henrys last name is Ross, Sammy has a cat, Sammy has a sister, this takes place in the 1960’s because fuck canon I do what I want)
Relationships: Sammy Lawrence/Henry Stein
Series: Turning Ink AU Rewrite [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832944
Comments: 9
Kudos: 71





	1. The Ink Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to Turning Ink 2 Electric Boogaloo!
> 
> Now to my Ao3 readers: yes this is in no way Transformers I know it’s weird it’s new it’s different it’s scary, but calm down this is not going to stop my crazy gay Transformers fics, there’s tons of Starbee ideas of mine to write still ;)
> 
> This is also a rewrite of a old fix of mine I finished last year quite quickly! I didn’t really like how it’s written now that I’ve worked on more larger fics and have upgraded my writing since I left Wattpad and tried new methods. I’ve wanted to rewrite this certain fic for a while now because I’ve loved this fic dearly and the story is quite personal in some ways to me and I want to spruce it up! So hello to my lovely readers from Wattpad who are reading this! I hope it makes you cry and yell at everyone even more ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer then anticipated haha, anyway thanks to everyone sticking around to read this! I’ll be updating the tags as the story goes as it’s pretty innocent until later on!

Joey Drew Studios was one of those places that one would believe a place for childlike wonder and magic, that’s what one would think because it was a place where drawings and characters would come to life. Most of the employees there would say otherwise, the studios music director Sammy Lawrence would even go as far to say Joey Drew was insane.

Sammy was currently working on a new instrumental for Mr. Drew, head balanced on a hand as he concentrated on his blank sheet music. This would never have been what he would have wanted as a job, but four years ago he was young and naive to the music career and when he was approached fresh out of college and working as a pianist in a local bar by Joey and offered to be the music director of his new studio he took it immediately. Now after all of those years if he had been offered the job again he would have declined it.

He sighed, leaning back and running a hand through his hair and staring down at the still blank page. Tapping his drip pen against the desk he frowned and grabbed the padge and placed it inside the desk drawer, standing up and stretching. Maybe a coffee could help get his mind back on his work, he thought as he made his way to his office door and opened it, only to find one of his coworkers outside the door. It wasn’t just any of the employees of the studio but the head of Animation himself.

“Henry? What are you doing at my door?”

The man in question startled, looking up at him with wide eyes before sighing in relief, “I was um.. coming to ask you if you would like to have lunch with me?”

His eyes narrowed, “Why? Is it for a meeting or something?”

Henry blinked, “What..? No! No as friends!”

“Right… look Henry normally I love going and having… what was it lunch? But I have to finish my work before Mr. Drew has my head.” Sammy’s voice dripped with sarcasm

“Joey would be fine with an hour break, please? I insist.”

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling before closing his eyes in defeat, “Fine. One break and that’s it.”

Henry grinned up at him, “Great! There’s a little dinner just up the street I’ve been wanting to go to and-“

“Henry.”

“Yes?”

“Save the pleasantries for later.” 

“Right sorry.”

Sammy sighed and shook his head, "So, where are we going then?"

Henry perked up at this and flashed a large grin, "There's the restaurant we planned to go to last week, I was thinking we could go there since you forgot about our lunch last week."

"I didn't forget Henry I told you, Joey pulled me into his office to go over some cuts to the music department." Sammy gave the faintest of smiles, "I know I work a lot but I don't forget that easily."

The way Henry's eyes lit up made the musician's heart twist in a strange way, he mentally shook his head and began to walk past him, looking back at the smaller man. Taking the hint the animator followed behind him, quickly catching up to his side. Sammy glanced down at his companion, taking note of the strange way he would talk with his hands as he rambled on about some new character Joey was wanting him to start planning. He noted how some of Henry's black hair was starting to grey, and he was starting to have bags under his hazel eyes whether from over working, stress or lack of sleep he wasn't sure. One of Henry's tanned hands waved in front of his face, making him blink and pause in his tracks and snap out of his thoughts.

"You alright there Sammuel? You've been staring at me for a while now."

"Yes, I'm fine. You look awful though."

Henry tilted his head slightly before giving a thoughtful look, "Well… I haven't really had a break, hiring more animators is harder than Joey made it out to be."

Sammy nodded, "It sounds like we both need a short break today."

The animator gave him a smile as he opened the front door of the studio, making their way onto the busy street of Hollywood. The walk down to the restaurant was silent, occasional quick 'hellos' from the few people on the sidewalk that he was surprised the man with him knew. His confused look only earned a laugh from the small companion. Once they had arrived Henry had gone into another long tangent about something that happened at the university he went to with Joey and the people he greeted on their journey there. His story was interrupted by the waiter at the front podium, who quickly took the two to a two person table by the stunning bar the place had, golden panels that reflected the room around them and rows of glass shelves holding various bottles of alcohol that were lit up beautifully from a row of lights under the shelves. Sammy took a moment to admire how fancy this place was before looking at his coworker in confusion.

"Henry, how much does this place charge…?" He whispered across the table

"Oh don't worry Lawrence, it's not as expensive as it looks." Henry said simply, picking up a menu

Giving one last suspicious look he picked up his own menu and began skimming through, trying to ignore how hungry he actually was. Having nothing but coffee and slightly stale bagels being the only thing Joey Drew ever bothered to have in the break room, Sammy never really bothered to eat what was offered which meant that he didn't eat at the studio. If he was honest he didn't exactly eat at home either. He didn't notice that his companion was smiling at him thoughtfully till he looked up from the menu.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing, it's just good to see you out and eating for once." Henry continued, ignoring Sammy's annoyed look, "So how is the new song coming along?"

"It's coming along, should be done within the day if that's what you're asking." He looked back down at the menu

"I'm not Joey, you can tell me if you ever need a break or assistance with your work." Sammy glanced back up at him, "I can give you an extension if you ne-"

"No, Henry, thank you but that won't be necessary. I have never needed an extension and I don't plan on ever needing one."

He watched Henry frown, sighing and shake his head, "Well the offer still stands Sam," "Don't... don’t call me that Henry." "and you have the music department to help you too if you need it."

Sammy rolled his eyes, sighing under his breath, "Thank you… the thought is appreciated."

Henry smiled softly, looking back at his own menu as Sammy watched him with a small frown. It wasn't long before the waiter came to their table to take their orders, once placed the two fell into an awkward silence. Sammy refused to make eye contact, voting for instead to watch himself twiddle his thumbs all while feeling eyes on him from the man across the table. When their meals arrived he quickly distracted himself by going ahead and enjoying his salad.

"So… Sammy…" Henry spoke after a while, earning the musician to look up at him, "What was it you wanted to do…? With your music I mean. You said the last time we had lunch together that you didn't enjoy what you do at the studio."  
Sammy looked back down at his plate before looking off towards the bar, "It's not that I don't enjoy what I do, Joey just… is difficult to work with what with his talks of dreams and rushed deadlines, nothing gets done because of it. The other employees are interesting to say the least, they're not as bad as Joey is but they're still a pain to work with. Susie's the only one I can tolerate, and well that's mostly because its Susie, no one seems to not like her. Not to mention the work environment is horrible, he can't hire anyone properly."

Henry hummed, "Well that is certainly all true, Joey is just optimistic. He was that way back when we first started this whole thing in college. Sure he wasn't as bad as he is now, but give him time, he'll get the hang of it all." he paused, "You could have told me about this you know… I could have talked to Joey about it sooner."

"I don't know if you've noticed Henry but I'm not exactly the friendliest person in the world." came the snarky response

"Regardless you could have told me, I know we're friends but I'm still your boss…"

Sammy raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment.

"And besides, you seem pretty friendly outside of the office."

"Dont, push your luck Henry." Sammy pointed his fork at him accusingly before turning back and finishing his food

Henry sighed and followed suit, calling the waiter over for the bill. Sammy went and grabbed his wallet out of his front pocket, carefully setting it on the table and took the bill before Henry could grab it. The animator looked at him before snatching the slip of paper out of his hands, earning a surprised glare from the other.

"Don't worry about it Sam, I'll pay for it this round."

"You paid for it last time, at least let me thank you for the meal."

Henry shook his head, "Please it's on me," he continued before Sammy could argue, "I insist."

Sammy sighed, putting his wallet away with a curt nod, "Fine…"

The two made it back to the studio without much struggle, keeping a quiet conversation between the two about mundane things happening in the world and the lives around them. They entered the studio still distracted by the conversation at hand, not really noting the changes to the studio.

"Apparently she's gotten married to some accountant. Honestly sometimes that girl will always confuse me." Sammy sighed

"At least your sister has been doing something useful while up in Manhattan, Linda has taken up pottery and has turned my old childhood room into a potery room and has started making our mother plates and bowls!" Henry grinned up at him

"Sounds horrible." he mused with a small smile

"Why do you think I live in that tiny apartment?" he heard Henry murmur fondly

Suddenly, he was falling over something on the floor. Henry grabbed his arm and pulled him back and flat against his smaller body. The musician blushed lightly at the uncomfortable close contact, he could feel the warmth from the surprisingly larger hand gripped around his arm and waist.

"Oh my- are you alright?"

Sammy nodded, "Yes, yes… I'm alright…" he looked down at the floorboards with surprise, finding a large greyish brown pipe running across the floor, "Was that always there…?"

Henry seemed confused before noting where the man's eyes were focused on, turning his own gaze to the floor, "Oh. No, it wasn't."

He had a frown to his face, which in Sammy's opinion did not look good on the shorter individual, when the taller turned to face him. They regarded the pipe for a moment before Sammy pulled away and stepped over it, taking a good look at the surrounding area.

"Oh my god…"

"What, what? What is it no- oh… oh dear…"

Sammy glanced down at the man now beside him, his eyes wide with confusion and worry as he surveyed the area.

"We were only gone an hour! This definitely wasn't here when we left!" Henry motioned to the pipe lined walls and floor, exasperated

"Joey…"

Henry put a hand to the musician's arm, looking up at him with a deep seeded serious look filled with worry, "Go on down to your department, I'll go see what's going on. Make sure your employees are safe."

Sammy nodded, quickly racing down to the flight of stairs that led to the lower levels of the studio, his heart pounding in his chest as he searched his memory for anything that looked like what he just saw, and honestly he couldn't think of anything for the life of him. Entering the music department he saw the gathered group waiting for his arrival, Norman and Susie upfront trying to calm the musicians and accountants that were stationed on the basement level, putting themselves between the small crowd and his least favorite janitor Wally Franks.

"Will you all please calm down, I'm sure Mr. Lawrence will be here soon with answers to all that is going on more than Wally would!" Susie pleaded over the crowd before noticing the director enter, "Sammy! Oh thank goodness!"

The blond pushed through the crowd and hurried over to him before straightening her skirt.

"What's going on in here?"

"I have no idea, there's this black inky stuff flooding the department and I was hoping you would have some kind of answer…?" She looked at him with pleading green eyes

Sammy sighed and shook his head, "I'm at as much of a loss as you are… This has Joey written all over it. Henry is going to see what he has to say about it all. I nearly cracked my head open when I came back from lunch."

Susie's color drained from her face yet she looked as rosy as ever with her makeup, "Are you hurt?!"

He smiled tiredly, "No, I'm fine, Henry pulled me out of the way before I could trip on a pipe."

She sighed in relief, "Thank goodness… I would have had Joey's head for hurting you!"

Sammy couldn't help but roll his eyes, the more she said those things and did the opposite the more words he had less to believe in. He looked over the crowd now watching him anxiously, whispers floating through the air.

"Don't worry everyone, Henry is talking with Mr. Drew as we speak about this, I am sure you are all just as confused and curious about the pipes that have suddenly appeared during our lunch break." he spoke loud and calm, all attention on him, "Please return to your offices and continue to work as normal, I will update you all on what comes to light. Wally? A word."

Wally tensed, staring at him like a deer in headlights and clutching his mop in fear. Slowly Wally was dragged over by his arm, Norman pulling him along till they were with the music director.

“Wally. What’s going on?”

“Well uh… that would be a-a question for Mr. Drew! Speaking of I have something to do so if you’ll just excuse me…”

Before the three could stop him he slipped past them and out the door.

“Dammit.” Sammy huffed, “I’m going to see Mr. Drew and find out what’s going on myself.”

He quickly stormed off, following the janitor and up to the third floor of the studio, grabbing the door handle and slamming the door open.

“JOEY!”

The two men in the room jumped, turning towards him.

“Sammy?” Henry stared

“What do you think you're doing!?” Joey stood from his desk

"Why is there ink in flooding my department?!" Sammy gestured wildly as he spoke

"Ah yes… now that would be the ink machine I've installed to help make our cartoons better!”

Sammy and Henry exchanged confused looks before the taller male huffed and stormed out of the room, following the pipes to one of the previous empty rooms. Inside sat the ink machine, it felt like it towered over him. It was large and ugly, covered in ink stains and large weldings along each seam of metal that seemed almost cartoonish in nature. Huddled by the strange device was Wally, tinkering away inside an opened panel. Sammy walked over and grabbed him by the collar of his beige button up and pulled him out, warning a surprised squeak and a look of fear.

“Wallace.”

“M-Mr. Lawrence!!”

“Care to explain what the hell is going on?” Sammy leaned closer to the frightened worker

“Th-there's still some kinks that Mr. Drew wants me to look at… sorry sir…” Wally glanced at the floor, poking his index fingers together nervously

“Wallace there is ink flooding my department.”

“I’m tellin’ ya honestly! Boss’s orders! I swear if I don’t get this ink to stop leaking I-I’m outta here for real this time!” Wally squeaked out

Sammy could only sigh and rub his temple, letting go of the poor janitor, “Fix it or you’ll find it’s not Joey ringing your neck for it.”

As he left the room he heard a small and quiet ‘yes sir’ from Wally.


	2. Coffee Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished setting up the ask blog that will be going along with the chapters!
> 
> Check it out here! https://turning-ink-au.tumblr.com/

Pipes kept bursting throughout the studio, causing more chaos than anyone could have predicted once the hellish machine was placed into the building. Joey Drew would constantly be visited by angry employees, more than often Sammy himself. He'd slam the door open, ink covering him from head to shoulder, and yelling at the man behind the hole thing about how it needed to be taken out, or at least not have so many pipes. He would pace the room as ink dripped onto the carpet and stain the fabric and flooring beneath it as he would rant until either Joey forced him out or Henry was called in to take the furious musician away. It was the fiftieth pipe that month, third that day when Sammy finally had enough, sitting and scowling at his now ruined work as ink dripped off of his soaked hair and onto the paper. A burst pipe hung above him, the ink flow slowing to a reasonable drip that continued to stain his dark brown hair, he knew he would be washing that out for days and ruining his shower at home. He kept to himself that day, having a decent day and getting ahead of all the music he had to write, and the small flooding he now had in his office just soured that burst of excitement for maybe getting a break.

"Sammy…?"

Torn out of his thoughts he looked over at the woman in his office doorway, the worried look on Susie's face sending a wave of annoyance through him.

"What." He snapped, growling slightly at the blond

Susie visibly tensed, but approached him nonetheless, gently placing a small hand on his inky shoulder. In her other hand was a cup of what he could only assume to be coffee, she gave a faint smile and held it out to him.

"Coffee?" She quickly added, "You seem like you need it…"

Sammy blinked, the tension in his shoulders loosening slowly as he took it from her, "Oh… Sure…"

She smiled brightly and let him, he tried to ignore how her fingers brushed against his own. "Haven't complained about it yet I see."

Sammy sighed and looked back at his work, "What even is the point anymore? Joey doesn't listen to anyone about it. I was thinking about quitting actually.”

“Sammy!” Susie gasped, “You can’t be serious!”

He only shrugged, "I'm not sure, would it be worth it?"

"Well, no one would be able to run the music departement like you Sammy, who would even do a better job?"

Sammy could only smile faintly at the girl, "I suppose your right…"

Susie grinned and put her hands on her hips, "Of course I am! Now then, lets get that ink off you before you get it all over the place."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sammy sighed as he looked over his salvaged work, frowning slightly. He went through the notes and melodies over and over, humming along and playing the tune with his banjo. He would pause and fix a note and start again before finally letting a smile creep onto his face as he read through the sheet music one final time. Satisfied he organized them all into a folder, making sure everything was neat and tidy, the pipe above his desk was patched up and hadn't leaked for a good three hours, which was enough time for him to finish all of the music for the next episode. He hesitated, looking at the door uncertainly, he dreaded the fact that he would have to properly interact with more than just Susie today. With a deep breath he left his office. Joey was unbearable when it came to his finished work, demanding that it wasn't perfect and having him work with the animation department to insure it was when he hadn't looked at the work himself, only to be told everything was fine and fit the episode. With a heavy sigh he made his way up to the art department, winding through the halls in search for the lead animator himself, better to get it done with someone he at the least tolerated.

In the hall before the main room of the animation department sat Henry at his isolated desk, slumped over and scribbling away next to a stack of papers Sammy could only assume to be all the frames for the episode Joey was pushing to be finished by the end of the week. He noted the bags under the animator's sleepless eyes, tinged red along the sides. The music director sighed and walked up to the man, tapping his shoulder gently.

"Henry."

The animator jumped, head whirling to the side and staring up at him with wide eyes. "Sammy!?"

He blinked before chuckling dryly, "Did I startle you?"

"Ah, no… but you are the man I was looking for!" Henry smiled brightly before digging through the stack of drawings  
"I am?" Sammy asked, watching him curiously

"Yes, actually! I wanted to know what you thought of Ms. Campbell! You see Joey has asked for a new character to be added into the show, make it more appealing to a wider audience, a female counterpart to be exact and-"

"And you want to know if Susie would be a good candidate to voice her?" Sammy crossed his arms contemplatively

"Exactly!" Henry grinned up at him, handing a piece of paper 

Looking down he raised an eyebrow. On the paper sat the inked drawing of a strange character, the name Alice Angel scribbled next to it. At a first glance it didn't look like any angel that had been in an episode before, no wings to be seen at all yet there was clearly a halo above its head. However the strangest part in it was how the character had a set of horns to go along with its halo.

"It's definitely an interesting design…" Sammy looked back up at the tired man before him, "She is supposed to be a singing role correct?"

Henry nodded, "That's right, I was hoping Susie could be her voice, Grant has once again said we can't afford to hire a new one anyway so…"

"Well… Susie does have a very talented singing voice, and she can do a number of vocal ranges for voice acting. She has a lot of potential. I can see her voicing this Alice character." Sammy hummed thoughtfully

"Wonderful, thank you Mr. Lawrence! Would you mind helping me suggest this choice to Joey?"

Sammy nodded, "Of course, oh but before that, the music for the episode."

Henry nodded and gratefully took the sheets of music, laying them out before him on his desk. "There's a chair over in the corner you can use."

He pulled the chair Henry motioned to up to the desk, sitting almost uncomfortably close to the animator and watching him examine his work. His stomach twisted, nervous over the verdict the man would have over it, it was one thing to work with the entire department but a whole nother when his own boss was analysing it, especially one he respected wholeheartedly. Henry on the other hand was comparing the frames and storyboards to the sheet music, humming some parts out as he looked between each part with a zoned interest. Sammy was in complete awe as he watched the man work, it was something new and exciting to watch and made something in his chest flutter strangely. No one he had worked with previously had done the same, not even Joey, it was a nice change of pace. After a couple of minutes Henry sat back and nodded, holding up the sheets of music before looking over to the musician next to him.

"This is incredible, are you sure you didn't see any of the storyboards while working? It's like you know exactly what's going to happen, you clearly have a talent for this. Good job once again Mr. Lawrence." Henry's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled lightly, "Well now… Look at that…"

"What?"

"You're smiling!" Henry laughed, "I have never seen you smile before, didn't know you could!"

Sammy's face flushed lightly but he kept his content smile and shook his head, "I can in fact smile, but it is rare I suppose."

"I always knew you had it in you." the animator gave a lopsided grin and pat his shoulder

He could only roll his eyes at that, "Well thank you Mr. Ross, we should get going to deliver this work though no?"

Henry laughed and nodded, "Best not to keep Joey waiting."

Sammy smiled a little wider and stood, collecting his sheet music. "Come on then."

The two walked down the hall towards the stairs that lead to the top floor where Joey and the Administration services were located as well as where Thomas Conner's office lay. It was a place that while Sammy wasn't familiar with he was indeed familiar with Joey's office. Sammy felt more relaxed then he had all day, making small talk with his companion as they traveled to the man of the hour's office, if it was from his successful music or how much he had grown accustomed to the animator he wasn't sure.

"We should have lunch again sometime." Sammy suddenly spoke

Henry looked up at him with the faintest blush scattered over his face, "I had thought you didn't enjoy it when we did?"

Sammy shook his head, "It was a bad day for me, with work and Joey, a busy one at least. I did enjoy it."

The animation director smiled with a small laugh, "I think a screws loose in that head of yours. You've changed."

"Don't push your luck Henry." Sammy frowned, ignoring that feeling creeping back

Henry sighed, taking the lead and opening the door to the head of the studio's door yet still keeping that smile on his face. Everyone seemed to know that if Sammy had to deal with Joey he would sour almost immediately, not that anyone could blame him. The musician trailed behind Henry as he entered the office, not sure how much he really wanted to face the director and debating if he should follow through on his idea of quitting. The first thing that he noticed was how a corner of the rug had been folded up, and what appeared to be black ink stains on the floorboards underneath.

"Joey what… is under the rug…?" Henry asked first

Joey had been facing away from the two, putting away some books on the shelving behind his desk before turning slowly towards them like a child who had just been caught taking something from the kitchen without permission. A grin quickly replaced his suspicious look and he turned fully towards them, arms outstretched welcomingly.

"Ah, there's my favorite directors! I see you have the work I need done with you!" He walked over to them and ushered them past the rug they were questioning and into the two seats in front of the desk, "Don't worry about that old thing! It was just some leak from our wonderful machine!"

Henry opened his mouth to say something.

"Now then how can I help you two?" Joey grinned at them, sitting behind his desk once more

"Well… Sammy and I have worked together to finish the music and animation for the next episode, and we have an idea for that new character you were hoping to add."

Joey took both the character sketch and the folder that contained Sammy's music notes, looking over the both with interest.

"Her name is Alice Angel, we think that Susie Campbell would be the perfect fit to voice her."

"She has shown tremendous potential and work effort Joey, and I can confidently say after working with her the last few months she can do so much more than voicing background characters and doing simple intern work. She has the talent for this." Sammy added

Joey looked at the both with a serious look, "And you both think that this can work?"

"Yes sir." Henry nodded in agreement

"Splendid! We will get started on this right away then! All main characters need a counterpart afterall, the demon versus the angel! Oh it will be perfect don't you think? Maybe a lovers rivalry eh?"

"Actually I wa-"

Henry was quickly shot down and ignored by the man in front of them much to the artists dismay and Sammy's annoyance.

"Sammy go tell Ms. Campbell the news! We will start working on her debut immediately! Oh and about your music, I'm glad to see you taking the initiative for once! This has been the improvement I've been looking for, finally doing your job right eh Lawrence?"

Sammy grit his teeth but nodded stiffly, right eye twitching slightly. "Always striving to improve Mr. Drew."

"Good to hear! Now go do your damn jobs!"

The two quickly left, Sammy marching back towards the stairwell, ignoring the presence of Henry next to him.

"Hey Sammy?"

"What." He turned to glare at the man next to him

"How about we go get some drinks after work?" Henry smiled gently

Sammy's expression softened from angered to confused, mulling it over in his head, "Alright…"


	3. Henry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay of this chapter everyone! We sadly had a death in the family, had to put down my kitty, so I've been lacking motivation to work but I finally sat down and finished the chapter!

Sammy woke with a migraine, nothing new but he really needed to remind himself to not drink so much out with his colleagues. The last outing he had was with Norman, Jack, and Shawn, and that definitely taught all of them to never challenge an Irish man to a drinking game. He groaned, rubbing his eyes before sitting up in bed, gently turning his alarm clock off. Sammy slowly got out of bed, dragging himself into the small bathroom and into the shower. He let out a sigh of relief, letting the cold water hit his face and muddle his headache down. He wasn’t sure why but cold showers were always the best in the morning. 

Feeling more energized he stepped out and dried off, he stared at himself in the mirror for a minute, noting with a small frown how almost every rib could be seen. He returned to his room and put on his signature dress attire, buttoning up his vest. He headed into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast, tapping his foot along to the radio as he waited for his small breakfast. With some food in his stomach he made his way to the front door, a coat rack was on the left of it with a nice grey coat and black satchel bag hanging from separate hooks. Being late October the warm Californian weather was starting to cool drastically and the need for a good coat was relevant again. He didn't live far from the studio so he didn't mind the walk there even in the chillier weather. The smell of the crisp and clean early morning fog hit his nose as he stepped out of his house, a dampness to the air from the light rainfall only a few hours earlier, Sammy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This was the one thing he missed from his college days over in New York, the refreshing smell of fresh rain and mist on the concrete streets that was almost constant, that and snow during the colder months. With a small content sigh he made his way down the streets towards the main stretch of Hollywood. It wasn't that he lived far away from the studio, or even right on top of it in a manner of speaking, he lived comfortably close on a small street a few blocks away. It was right between his work and his now less visited mothers. Sure he had contemplated moving fully to New York, more opportunities for a more serious music career in orchestras and concert halls, but he couldn't leave his mother all alone while his sister galavanted around with some lawyer. 

"Well now, if it isn't Mr. Sammy Lawrence."

Sammy was snapped out of his thoughts with a small jump and sharp inhale of surprise. The cop suddenly in front of him grinned as he chuckled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright Officer Marshal, good morning sir," Sammy let out his breath and offered a small tired yet polite smile, "How may I help you?"

"Just checking in on one of my favorite locals, word has it you've been comin home late and leavin quite early. Wanted to make sure everythin was fine." Marshal nodded, his grin never leaving him

"Oh that, yes I am fine, I'm sure you know that I work at Mr Drew's studio, he likes to keep me busy." He explained

"I see, well it's good to know you're not gettin into any trouble. Have a good day now!"

Sammy nodded, watching the policeman continue his patrol route for a moment before continuing on his way, whistling a quiet tune to himself to shake off the slightly eerie concept of people watching him leaving and entering his house. When he reached the studio it was already 7:20, just on time for him. As he approached the door it swung open, Henry’s grinning face beaming up to him. Sammy, startled, jumped back and gripped his chest right over his heart, eyes wide and breathing heavily. He did not need another scare today.

“Sammy! Come on quickly! There’s not much time!” Henry fiddled with his own satchel and quickly closed the door, “Joeys not at work yet and if we hurry we can make it to get breakfast!”

Sammy stares at the small man in confusion as he walked past him, “Henry… what…?”

“No time! Come on!!” He grabbed him by the wrist

Sammy’s face flushed darkly, stammering slightly as he was pulled along, "Wait a second- Henry what are you talking about??"

Henry paused, looking back at the flustered man who looked at him like he had sprouted another head and had finally gone insane from work, "Joey called and said he was going to be two hours late! Something about an appointment or family emergency, but that's not the point, the point is we have the morning to ourselves if we hurry!"

Sammy bit the inside of his cheek nervously and tugged his wrist away, "I'd rather get to work…"

He ignored the way the animator's smile slowly fell from his face as his eyes looked sadly at him, and how it made his heart ache at the sight.

“Oh… that’s fine, I understand Samuel..” Henry offered a small yet sad smile before turning away and walking off

Sammy, didn’t know how to take this. On one hand he was glad the other didn’t push him to go before work, his need to keep on top of things putting his heart's desires he really didn’t even know he had to rest. On the other hand he could go and finally have breakfast not only just that but with a friend who cares about him. Taking a hesitant breath, he quickly followed after the smaller man.

"Henry, wait!"

Breakfast was interesting, Sammy found himself laughing more than he had in the last week to whatever stories Henry was telling him as they ate. He sipped at his coffee, watching the man next to him talk, hands gesturing and arms waving around him as he went. It made him smile as he watched, chuckling every now and again. Having breakfast was definitely nice, having a decent meal for the first time in a few weeks was a plus and made his body feel less exhausted for once, it definitely didn't help his problems with Joey never really caring much about providing things in the break room, food especially. Those bagels he got from the local corner store never looked appealing. 

"So Henry," Sammy looked at his companion, "Tell me something."

"Hm?"

"Why are you constantly wanting to spend time with me?"

Henry blinked and turned to him fully, "I thought you liked these…" He paused, unsure how to word these meetings, "Outings?"

"Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy them." He sighed, resting his head on his hand and looking off to the side, "I really do Henry, I just am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it's me that you want to spend time with, and not Joey or someone else."

Henry grinned, "Well, we're friends, are we not?"

Sammy scoffed, a look of surprise on his face before he laughed, "You really are something Mr. Ross."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Henry asked with a amused smile

He shook his head, smiling and pulling out a cigar and offering one to the man next to him who took it with a more relaxed smile, "Nothing, anyway we should get back, it's already almost nine."

"Anxious to get back Lawrence?" Henry teased, taking a puff from his cigar

"Anxious to not have my ass handed to me by Joey Drew." Sammy snorted

"Is that so?"

Sammy flashed him a grin as he got up, leaving a couple bucks onto the counter to pay, "Don't push your luck Henry."

Henry chuckled and followed the man out of the diner, heading back to the studio once again side by side.

"You know you don't have to worry about Joey."

"Why's that?"

"Because, I won't let him touch you even if you're late if it's because of me." Henry winked at the musician before making his way into the studio

Sammy stared at him, his face turned a dark red as he tried to process what the hell just happened. Quickly shaking it off, he walked down to his department, trying to get his head to focus again but his thoughts were filled with that animator. The sudden body in his way and the hand waving in front of him, jerked him out of his thoughts. Susie glared up at him, even though she wasn’t that much shorter then himself, arms now crossed and a pout on her face.

“You're late.” She spoke before he could

“I was out having breakfast with Henry.” He growled softly, sidestepping her

Susie was one step ahead of him, “You were out having breakfast with Henry Ross, instead of working when I have a song to record!?”

Sammy glared right back, “You don't have a song to record when there’s no song written!”

“Well now who’s fault is that! Joey said it was a big deal for me to be even considered to play this role! You don’t think I can do this do you??” She poked his chest accusingly

Sammy scoffed, his nose wrinkling in offence, “I’ll have you know that I am the one who told Joey to make you Alice’s voice. I can end that in an instant. I’d suggest you get your act together and if you do a good job maybe one day you’ll be just as popular if not more then that devil.”

That got her to shut up, “You really think so? Well why didn’t you just say so! Go! Go write that song!”

He snarled as he stalked off, “Go and fetch Fain for me.”

Of course no character could ever surpass the lead, well besides maybe Boris but everybody loves a dog. He paced his office, glaring at nothing as he tried to wrap his head around things, Susie was acting different, Henry was even acting strange. He tried to spend more time with the musician, frequently coming down to his office and excusing the encounters as him wanting to plan episodes as a collective. Sammy knew that wasn’t how you plan episodes, hell even the sheet music he writes when looking at the storyboards isn’t how it ends up once they start recording over the episode. Everything was unsettling about it, he didn’t like change, especially in a short few months. He was used to the state of things, even when he was younger things easily stressed him out.

When he and his sister moved to New York together for college he had convinced himself that he didn’t want to go and wanted to stay at home with his mother. After some well hard convincing from his family and Jack, who he’d known since highschool, he finally went. It was without a doubt the best decision he had made, but the thought of his life not fully being predictable or in control made him on edge. And he was finding himself in the same boat as he had hoped this job wouldn’t put him in.

“Anxious?”

Sammy spun around, facing the blond song writer who leaned against the doorframe with a knowing smirk.

“I didn’t ask for you here for a chat.” Sammy brushed him off

Jack only grinned and walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder awkwardly thanks to the height difference, “I know that look, come on talk to me!”

Sammy gave him a hesitant glare before caving, sighing and sitting on his desk, “Todays just been… strange.”

“How so?”

“Where do I even begin.” He let out a halfhearted chuckle, “Susie tried to boss me around a little while ago.”

“That’s why she was so high strung when she came to me.”

He nodded, “She wasn’t happy about me having a… meeting with Henry.”

Jack raised his eyebrow.

“He took me out to breakfast since Joey was going to be late.”

The writer grinned a sly grin, “So you went on a date with the boss huh?”

Sammy’s eyes grew wide and his face flushed, was that what it was? “No! It wasn’t- I’m not a homo! And frankly I don’t think Henry is either!”

“Oh really? Sammy I’ve known you half my life, I know when you're crushing on someone! Plus you can’t say that you're not when you’ve kissed me before.” Jack laughed

Sammy stood, face even darker, “That was one time! We were drunk at some party you dragged me to that doesn’t count!”

“Whatever you say Sam,” Jack smirked, ignoring the angry growl from his friend at the nickname, “Now then lover boy, what made you’re “not date” weird?”

“He said something about making sure Joey couldn’t touch me if it involved something that we did together… and well…”

“Well?”

“Don’t laugh.” Sammy gave him a serious look

“No promises.” Jack simply grinned back

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, why was he expecting anything less, “I hate you. He winked at me.”

Jack’s face lit up in excitement, a wide grin spread across, “Oh my lord Sammy, he definitely has a thing for you!”

“Oh shut up! I swear to god Jack you are the worst!” He couldn't help but smile

Jack chuckled and sat in his office chair, “So since you didn’t call me in here to chat what do you need me for? Besides love advice?”

Sammy smacked his shoulder with a lighthearted glare, “I need you to focus first of all. Secondly we need to write a song to introduce the new character Susie is playing. I want you to go talk to Henry and find out everything you can about her personality, character traits, everything.”

He nodded, “Got it boss! Ask about the angel and tell Henry that he’s got a nice choice in asses!”

Jack quickly got shoved out of the office, getting smacked along the way as he laughed, “Out! Out! Get lost before I end your career! You're so awful go!”

Sammy groaned as he slammed the door, listening to his friend cackle down the hall before letting out a well earned tired laugh of his own. It had definitely been a long day. He turned back to his desk and tried not to think about his friend and coworker causing more trouble, of course with the best intentions, instead of doing as he was asked and went to work composing the new song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like the conversations were just lacking overall in this chapter on the old work soooo have more Jack and Sammy fluff


	4. Dinner for Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week it’s sammy being gay
> 
> That’s it
> 
> That’s the whole chapter

Music was always something that came naturally to Sammy, ever since he was a child he prided himself in how fast he could learn an instrument. His mother always said he was like his father in that aspect, constantly learning and trying to understand the world around him and how music was one of those building blocks in its creation. He was always a curious child, never one to get into trouble unlike his sister, in fact any time he had gotten into trouble was due to his sister Beatrice dragging him along in her childish schemes of adventure. He never minded of course, he and Bea were always close and he considered her to be his closest friend for the majority of his childhood. His favorite memories were always with his mother and the piano, she gave piano lessons in their small neighborhood when she wasn’t teaching at the primary school a few blocks down, and he learned from her. He quickly mastered the piano and fell in love with the violin, his father's instrument; he had found it in his old study, where his mother would make sure everything was as clean as he had left it. While he couldn’t remember his father he always felt close to the instruments his father owned. He was always the odd kid in school, rather focusing on his music and studies than friends, until Jack came into his life and gave him an actual friend. It was better with someone who understood him, who knew the passion he had for music. 

“Get your head outta the clouds Sammy Lawrence!” Jack’s sing-song voice snapped him out of his thoughts as a stack of papers dropped on his desk

“Wh-what is all this!?”

“Lyrics Sammy! I was up all night! Actually for the past week! This Angel character really got the juices goin!” Jack beamed down at him

Sammy stared in bewilderment at the man standing at his desk, “Have you been home? You smell like the ink machine!”

“That’s not important!” Jack laughed, “We have work to do Sammy ol pal!”

Before the musician could even register what in god's name just happened the man left, leaving him absolutely speechless. He slowly looked back at the stack of papers, shifting through them and skimming over the lyrics. To his displeasure a good chunk were love songs, his absolute least favorite style to compose. He groaned and prepared for the worst, hearing pipes creak above him he quickly grabbed the stack of papers and held them out behind him right before a pipe burst on top of him, he had gotten pretty good at nailing the timing between a groaning pipe and said pipe breaking over the last week as to avoid his work being destroyed. He sighed, placing the papers in a drawer in his desk before the ink dripped onto them and so that he could go clean himself up. 

He stood and stomped over to the department's bathrooms, using one of the many towels that were now required to be stored in the studio to clean himself up, wetting it and cleaning his face and hair. The rest would wash out in the shower that night, he thought as he started dabbing with the wet towel at his white shirt that was almost instantly stained black at the shoulders and most of the upper half. 

Returning to his office, shirt and hair wet, ink stained skin and hands, he grumbled tiredly to himself. He could take a break soon, he only had to give Henry and the animation department the score for the first episode with Alice in it now and then he could take a lunch break, maybe spend some time playing for fun or even talk with Susie. With a sigh he grabbed the slightly stained folder of sheet music and made his way to the animation department. Out of breath, tired and sore he headed to the overworked animator who clearly was going to have back problems one day by the way he sat at his desk hunched over the tilted thing. 

“Henry.”

“Not now Sammy this is late and I need to finish it, we’re behind an episode.” Henry grumbled

“It’s the music for that Angel episode you wanted.”

“Just put it at the top of the desk, I’ll look at it later.” He brushed him off

Sammy stood still, a little unnerved by Henry’s demeanor, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, just tired.”

“Have you gone home at all?”

“No I haven’t Lawrence.”

Gently Sammy laid the folder on the closest upper corner to him and placed a hand on the others shoulder, “Why don't you take a break, I’m sure five minutes wouldn’t hurt.” At his silence he continued, “I’m about to have a lunch break, why don’t I go pick up a coffee or something at that cafe you took me to last week?”

Henry shrugged off his hand, “Please Sammy I need to work.”

Sammy scoffed, “I’m trying to help you.”

Henry stood and turned to him, “I can see that Sam but I told you I’m fine, now please go back to work so I may do the same.”

Taking a closer look at the shorter man he could see the tiredness in his eyes, the bags under his eyes and the small wrinkles forming from stress, his hair was disheveled most likely from him running his hand through it and his shirt was wrinkled badly in certain areas.

“Henry you look like a wreck.” Sammy said bluntly, “You need a break.”

“Sammy don't push this, go back to work please.”

“I’ve already had to deal with Jack going insane writing a whole essay's worth of songs for your new character. I don’t need you being grumpy and slowing down everything by being too exhausted to work!” Sammy snapped

Without warning he was grabbed by his tie and pulled into a nearby supply closet, and before he could fully understand what was happening he felt lips on his own. His eyes widened as he was pinned to the closet wall, slightly larger hands gripping his tie and one holding his face before the animator pulled away just as quickly as it happened. The two stared at each other in the dark for a moment, Henry’s eyes widened as he realized what he had done and his face lit up. In any other occasion where his mind was working properly Sammy would have thought it was cute. Without a word he watched the tanned man quickly leave and grab his mug from his desk and hurry away to the break room. 

Sammy stood there in a daze, slowly leaving the closet and looking down the hall the way Henry had left, his face slowly returning to a normal color. He ran his hand through his hair in amazement as he finally let out a breath. Did that really just happen?

The next week was even worse, Henry would ignore him or give very short and awkward answers when consulting about music and the flow of it to the animation. Sammy did his best to keep things as normal as possible, as if the whole situation never happened. He decided it might be good if he took a small break from work, heading into the quiet pool room down the hall where he found Norman being challenged to a game by two of the accountants from the other department the music department shared space with. He watched in the corner for a moment, lighting a cigar and clearing his head.

“Sammy!” The projectionist grinned at him, “Care to join us for a game?”

“No thanks Norman, I don’t have long before I have to work again.”

The southerner shrugged, “Suit yourself Sam, it’s always work with you aint it?”

“It’s not always work, I have a life outside the studio.”

Norman snorted a huff, aiming his pool cue at the white ball as if it was an extension to his own arm. Sammy has always admired the southerner from a distance, he was a man of work much like Sammy was himself, quiet for the most part and from an outsiders position some would find the african man unapproachable. Everyone in the studio knew that he was a very friendly man once you got him to talk, and didn’t mind his stranger habits of watching people. Not to mention, he thought to himself as he shamelessly stared at the other man, he always had the most flawless skin he’d seen from most men, and it was such a warm chocolate color that just brought out his features beautifully. He quickly shook his thoughts out of his head, he couldn’t let himself get distracted even though he knew that the other knew he had been staring.

“Have a good game.” He muttered before excusing himself

Without a word he made his way back to his office, hoping that it was as empty as he had left it. Sadly that was not the case.

“Sammy! You sly dog I didn’t know you had an admirer!” Susie grinned at him, her eyes told a different story

“Hello Susie, what can I help you with?” He sighed, sitting at his desk

“Well first of all you can tell me who the lucky lady is!”

Sammy gave her a tired yet confused look, “What are you talking about?”

Susie sat on his desk, holding out a letter to him which he took carefully, “Saw it on your desk, someone with an ‘H’ as an enissial! Not many gals here with a ‘H’ in their name! Unless it’s a last name… ohh or maybe it’s a last name! I don’t really pay enough attention to catch many last names.”

‘Sammy,

Please meet me at the Italian restaurant down the street at 7pm after work, don’t be late, there is something I’d like to tell you.

~ H’

Sammy ignored the girl as he read the letter over, he couldn’t believe it, but was it really from him? He couldn’t risk it getting out.

“Who the hell is ‘H’?” He muttered

“There’s only one way to find out!” Susie grinned with a shrug

Sammy nodded, his heart pumping loudly in his chest, “Right…”

After work was farther away then he thought it would be, and each moment was agonizingly slow. What could be so important that he’d want to talk to him outside of work? Did he want to fire him? Was is about what happened last week? Sammy couldn’t decide if he should wait or go straight up and ask him himself, but he steadied himself and waited for it to hit 6:30 on the clock in his office before packing his things and heading out. He checked the desk on his way out, empty. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst. 

He was at the restaurant all right, sitting at a table in the corner, further away from where most people sat. Sammy took a moment to mentally prepare himself before heading over to the table.

“Henry…?”

“Sammy! I’m glad you could make it.” Henry smiled softly at him

He definitely wrote the letter, Sammy thought to himself as he sat down across from him, “What's going on?”

“Just enjoy yourself…? Please?” 

“What did you want to tell me that you couldn’t at work?” Sammy glared slightly

“Well… Sammy… there’s something that’s been on my mind, and I needed to tell you where someone couldn’t overhear us…”

Sammy raised an eyebrow, deciding not to mention that being in a very public place where literally anyone could overhear was not what Henry thought it was, “Alright… what is it?”

“Sammy there’s something about you… something special. I wanted to say that last week was a mistake-“

Sammy felt his stomach drop, “Is that it?”

Henry’s eyes widened, “N-no! I’m sorry that came out wrong… Sammy I… I don’t think of you as a coworker or a friend…”

“Are you… firing me?” Sammy growled slightly

“What? No!” He sighed, “I’m not very good at this…”

“I couldn’t tell.” Came the snarky response

“What I meant to say is that I had thought last week was a mistake but… I don’t… anymore… I uh… Sammy I think of you as something more…”

Sammy’s chest clenched, as if his body wouldn’t believe what he had just heard wasn’t some sort of joke. “You mean you have feelings for me…?”

“I mean… I thought that the whole closet thing would kinda give that away but… yes…”

The musician stared at him for a good while, still seeming to process the whole thing. The man across from him looked like he was about to be shot he was so nervous. Slowly his world stopped spinning and he focused on the animator, face slightly flushed.

“I hope this won’t ruin our work relationship…”

Sammy could only shake his head, his words not quite finding him yet, “No… no not at all…” he laughed a bit, “In fact I’ve felt the same way for a while now… I didn’t think you felt the same until… well… you know.”

Henry smiled and nodded, “You really are something Sammy…”

“So are you Henry…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes susie repeating herself wasnt a mistake, that’s just susie for you


	5. Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy gets gayer and so does Henry but only Henry really remembers it because he doesn't drink like Sammy does

One thing Sammy was certain of was that waking up hungover was the worst. He could feel a weight on his chest and something fuzzy poking his nose but his eyes refused to open. He thought back to the night before, trying to remember how he got here after dinner with Henry. Drinks, a bar, that much was obvious, he slowly cracked open his eyes. Sunlight was beaming through his curtains and he was met with two yellow slitted eyes staring at him.

“Good morning to you too..” he muttered fondly, rubbing the felines head

He could remember bits and pieces of the previous night, Henry suggested going out for a drink, somewhere more casual. Sammy of course would never miss out on a good drink or spending time with Henry and agreed to go. Sitting up he observed the room, and it was definitely in a state. The other side of his bed was messy, for some reason his clothes were scattered along the floor. His eyes widened.

“Oh my god…”

It was then he noticed that the radio was playing in the living room, slowly he got out of bed, putting on some clothing and cautiously leaving the room. In the kitchen he found Henry, humming along to the music playing and reading a newspaper while drinking a cup of coffee, the smell of toast and eggs wafted through the air. Sammy almost reeled at the sight, flashes of kisses and messy make outs from the night before hitting him suddenly and giving him quite the migraine.

“Henry…?”

The animator turned to him, a look of surprise turned to one of fondness, “Morning Sammy, did you sleep well?”

Sammy looked absolutely dumbfounded, “What… are you doing here? What happened last night?”

At this Henry blushed, setting the paper down and turning to him fully, “Well I suggested we go get drinks and later on you invited me over and well…” his face grew darker as he awkwardly looked to the side

Sammy raised a hand, “I think I can figure out what happened next…”

He sighed heavily and sat at the kitchen bar, holding his face in his hands and rubbing his temples in a fruitless attempt to cure his growing migraine.

“Are you alright?” Henry asked softly

“I’m fine, it’s just a headache.” He paused, “So we really…?”

“Had sex? Yes…”

Sammy groaned as he rested his forehead on the cool countertop, “I slept with my damn boss…”

“If it makes you feel any better you were quite good at it.” Henry offered with a small smile

Sammy glared at him, “Yes that helps immensely, I’ll make sure to make that point when I get fired.”

Henry frowned, “You won’t get fired, not on my watch at least. And if Joey even tries to, he's a bigger hypocrite then I thought.”

Sammy’s eyes widened, “No…”

Henry smirked, “You're better than him by a long ways.”

Sammy snorted, “Explains why he’s all over you. But.. wait are you two…?”

He laughed, “God no! Never again.”

He wouldn’t deny how that felt like a weight had been lifted, “Well then… if that’s the case maybe we could be…?”

Henry seemed taken aback by the question but smiled nonetheless, “I would like that, yes.”

“As long as what happened last night stayed to last night.” Sammy said quickly, “I’d rather be sober if we ever um… slept together again.”

Henry’s smile brightened to a grin, “I think I’d like that very much.”

Sammy smiled at him before hissing softly as he felt a stab in his temple, rubbing it gently. He really hated hangovers.

“Can I get you anything?”

He nodded and pointed down the small narrow hall, “First door down the hall is the bathroom, inside the mirror cabinet are pain killers, and if you could grab my cigar box from my jacket that would be nice..”

Henry raised an eyebrow, “A smoke at 8am?”

“Get me a goddamn smoke before I throw you in the ink machine.” He snapped, ignoring the amused smile from his friend

His friend, but that wasn’t what Henry was anymore, what exactly he would call him he didn’t know, he was too hungover to bother with figuring it out at this point. He’d have to ask him later. Henry came back shortly, a glass of water in hand and a couple of pills in the other that Sammy gratefully took, only to make a small sound of surprise when the other gently kissed his temple.

“Let me go grab your cigars and I’ll get a plate together for you.” Henry spoke softly before leaving his side again

Sammy stared after him for a moment, he could definitely get used to this. He took the pills and finished the glass of water before he was handed a cigar and his lighter, smiling as a thank you and lighting it. Henry smiled and walked around back into the kitchen, getting a plate down from the cupboard and starting to fill it with food. Sammy watched for a moment before his attention was drawn to his furry friend meowing at his feet. With a chuckle he got up and grabbed the box of food to fill the small cats bowl for the morning.

“You know I never thought of you as a pet person.”

Sammy looked over to the shorter man, “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t seem like the type who’d want that sort of company, but maybe that’s because I’m more used to seeing people with dogs here.”

“I always grew up around cats, my uncle's farm had a lot of them. I could always understand them and they always understood me. Dogs were too much energy and maintenance for me to handle. And if I ever got one young enough it wasn’t trained you can bet I wouldn’t allow it in this house let alone near my instruments.”

Henry nodded, “Fair enough.”

Sammy smiled softly, petting his companion as he ate, “Besides… it gets lonely here at night… with him to keep me company it’s not so quiet. A simple radio can only offer so much after a while.”

Henry set the plate down and walked over to him, “Well, you have me now if you want. You just let me know and I’ll be here.”

Sammy looked up at him, standing up and smiling, “Thank you, I truly appreciate it.”

Henry smiles at him before standing on his toes a bit and kissing him, it was different from the first one, softer and sweeter. Sammy leaned down so the shorter man wouldn’t have to stretch as much to reach him, smiling into the brief kiss. When the two pulled away Sammy gave the other the sweetest smile Henry had ever seen from the grumpy man.

“So… this is happening?” Henry asked

“Hm? What’s happening?” Sammy snapped out of his small daze

Henry motioned between them, “Us?”

As if it wasn’t possible, Sammy's smile somehow grew softer, “If you want to be in a relationship with someone like me then, yes.”

He laughed, “What's that supposed to mean?”

Sammy gestured at himself, “You really want to be with a skinny overworked asshole of a musician?”

Henry shrugged with a lopsided grin, “Yeah I do! I wouldn’t have even made an attempt if I wasn’t interested in you.”

Sammy blushed and glanced away with a shy smile, “I’m glad you are… I probably wouldn’t have said or tried anything if you didn’t act on your feelings over me…”

Henry smiled and took his hands into his own, earning the tallers attention with a darker blush, “If you weren’t so good looking I probably wouldn’t have caved into kissing you, you're really hot when you're angry.”

“Is that why you argued with me?” Sammy gawked

“No! Well… that wasn’t my intention at first!” Henry pouted innocently

Sammy couldn’t help but laugh, making the other smile that sweet smile he fell in love with. That thought almost made his knees buckle, was he in love with this man? If he was he didn’t know yet, and he would rather throw himself into a car then admit it yet to the animator that was smiling at him with a loving look. Oh he had it bad for that artist. The two were quickly interrupted by a knock at the door, pulling Sammy's attention away from his partner and towards the sound with a confused look.

“It’s almost nine no one should be here, the mail already would have come by now.”

Henry frowned, “You weren’t expecting anyone were you?”

Sammy shook his head and let go of the others hands, walking over to the door and looking out the peephole. Standing outside was Susie, straightening her skirt and finger brushing her bangs to the side patiently. With a confused look back at Henry he opened the door.

“Susie what are you doing here? How did you find my house?”

Susie ignored the question and let herself inside, “Sorry to barge in unannounced! I know it’s the weekend and I know you're busy with work but I thought you could use some help! I saw all those songs Jack wrote on your desk for me an Alice! Oh they were wonderful Sammy I can’t wait to record! So I thought, ‘Sammy likes to work ahead of schedule and make things perfect! I should go and visit him so we can get a head start! I know you're into that sort of thing hm?” 

Sammy opened his mouth to speak, a bewildered look on his face but he never got the chance to speak.

“Oh of course you are! I can read a person very well, at least that’s what Joey says! Say have you got anything to drink? Water? Coffee? Tea maybe? Oh no matter, I’ll find something!”

“Susie-“

“And you have to tell me about that girl! How did it go? Who was it! Was it someone from accounting like I thought? Was it her last name that started with a ‘H’? Where did you even go! I need all the details Sammy!”

“Susie please, I’m in the middle of a meeting!” Sammy groaned

“Oh! With who- oh! Hello Mr. Ross! I see you also like mornings like Sammy here.” Susie smiled sweetly

Henry waved awkwardly, “Good morning Miss Campbell…”

She looked back at Sammy, “So the date, tell me everything!”

Sammy sighed, “Did you not hear any of what I just said?”

Susie blinked, “Hm?”

“Nevermind, no the date didn’t go well, she never showed up.” 

“Oh well that’s just terrible! I’m so sorry Sammy! You're such a catch any girl would be lucky to have you!” Susie gave him a sympathetic look

Sammy rolled his eyes, not failing to notice Henry’s stifled laugh and knowing smile.

“So what’s this meeting about?”

“Joey wants me to double check my work with the work Henry and the rest of the animators do to make sure it’s perfect.” Sammy snarked, “Henry thought it would be a good idea to look through all of Jack's lyrics together over the weekend.”

She nodded, “Want my help?”

“We have it under control, thank you Susie.” Henry offered a smile, coming over cat in tow

Susie's eyes lit up, “Sammy I didn’t know you had a cat!”

Sammy faintly smiled as she picked the feline up, much to the cat's obvious displeasure from it, “I've had Tom around for about two years now, he’s a gift from my sister for my birthday. Anyway Susie if you don’t mind we should get back to work.”

“Oh of course! If you need any help you know where to find me!” She gave him a wink and handed the poor cat to him before leaving

With a small surprised grunt he held the cat in his arms as the black fluffy thing hissed at the blond over his shoulder, jumping out of his hands. Henry chuckled and closed the door behind her, looking back at him with a smile.

“She’s quite the handful.”

“Try dealing with her every day.” Sammy sighed

Henry hummed and put an arm around his waist, “Well it’s just us now, how about a proper breakfast? I think I want to accept that offer now.”

“What offer?” Sammy felt himself smile at the contact

“Of coffee? From that cafe down the road from work?”

Sammy's eyes widened in realization, “Oh. Right.”

Henry chuckled, squeezing him gently.

“Do you think we’ll get any more interruptions?” Sammy asked

He hummed, leaning into him more, “Probably not, unless Joey randomly appears, drenched in ink, yelling bout deadlines.”

Sammy smiled and kissed the top of the animators head before muttering softly, “Sounds terrifying…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about actually adding in the sex scene but two of my long fics already have smut in it so why not have a non porn story for once


	6. Creative Differences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was double how long I normally write??? I was rereading the first version of the fic and realized I skipped over something pretty important to the story? So I added that and lengthened it since it HAS been a while since I updated! I normally do about 2,000 words or so and this ended up being almost 5,000 words and oh my god I surprised myself!
> 
> Anyway I haven't been writing a lot lately with personal and real world things going on; the pandemic, blm, I sadly lost my cat and some past drama ended up dragging me down for a while. Plus I started up more of my actual work and have been focusing on that more! I posted about that on my Tumblr if you want to read more about that ;)
> 
> Anyway onto the chapter!

Sammy hummed along to the radio in his office, tapping his foot along to the beat, a smile placed softly on his face. He hadn’t felt this happy in a while and he had to admit, it was a wonderful feeling. His thoughts kept wandering to his time with Henry the last few weeks, the sneaking around and the lunch dates, sometimes if they were feeling bold they’d spend the night at one of their places together. Of course it didn’t go unnoticed, at least by some of the people closer to the both. Susie had been watchful of him since she barged in on the two over the weekend they got together on, a distant look was always present in her eyes. Jack figured it out instantly when he heard Susie mention the “failed date” and who it was but promised not to tell a soul as long as Sammy kept him in the loop of things. He begrudgingly agreed to it.

Joey was suspicious as well, Sammy knew that he was still possessive over Henry, he could see that from a mile away. He only hoped he wouldn’t put the pieces together. That was something that scared him more than anything, if people found out about them both of their careers would be over for the most part. He was more worried about what would happen to Henry more than himself at this point. He sighed, shaking out the negative thoughts, trying to focus on all the amazing things he had gotten to experience with that animator.

There was a loud creak, making him look up at the ceiling in confusion, eyes widening as the wood started to buckle and ink began dripping through the gaps between each board. He fell back out of his chair, covering his face with his arms as the dark liquid gushed from the ceiling, hearing more bursts behind him. This had to be the biggest leak they had since it was installed. Finding a section of his office that wasn’t spraying ink everywhere he looked around quickly, the door was closed and the office started to flood, another pipe had burst near the back of his office across from the door. Panicked he sloshed through the flooding to the door and did his best to fight against the substance to open it, letting the ink surge out the doorway. He quickly ran into the main area of his department, eyes wide and full of fear, he could have died in there. More people started running into the room, pipes leaking all over the department and starting to flood the rest of the floor. It got as far as his ankles before he was spurred into out of his trance, hurrying to the fire escape door to get his employees to safety. Jiggling the doorknob proved useless, as the door was jammed.

“WALLY!?”

“Inks flooded the whole floor! Looks like seven pipes broke, machines on full! Whateva mister Drew is doin up there it ain’t good Sammy.” The young janitor looked up at him equally as worried

Sammy looked back at the door, the stairwell now starting to flood. He hurried back to the top before he found himself submerged, a look of pure fear in his eyes. 

“Shit… fuck..!” He ran a hand through his ink stained hair, “What the hell are we supposed to do!?”

Norman put a hand on his shoulder, “Sammy…”

He shrugged him off, spinning on him in an instant, “No. don’t you tell me to calm down. I am calm! I am.”

“Sammy. That’s enough now, your scarin people.” The projectionist sighed, “We’ll figure somethin out we always do.”

Sammy gave him one final frustrated look before looking back at the stairwell and at the rest of the department behind him, scared and confused employees all drenched in ink while knee deep in the stuff. 

“Fuck it all to hell…” he muttered, kicking the wall slightly, “Dammit Joey.”

Norman scoffed, “You said it alright…”

Sammy leaned against the wall, slowly slipping down until he was kneeling, as stressed as he was he would not let himself sit in ink. He looked up at Norman and Wally, who watched him with concerned looks.

“You think that damned machine will ever get dismantled?”

“We can only hope Sam…” the projectionist shook his head, “We can only hope…”

Sammy frowned sourly but nodded anyway, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to clear away the raging headache he now was beginning to form. 

“So much for my lunch break…” he sighed softly

He didn’t miss the knowing smirk Norman sported, which made him uneasy. He’d have to ask him about it privately.

It wasn’t until later that day the department was free of ink, Joey informed him that he’d be getting a pump in his office in case this happened again. As much as that news was relieving he dreaded it as well, it meant that if any leaks happened someone would get to just waltz right into his office. He begrudgingly accepted.

He also decided to send everyone in the music department home early as soon as everything cleared up, taking on the rest of the work on his own. Henry had come down by the end of the day to make sure he was alright after everything and had even offered to make him dinner at that animators apartment.

“I'd love that I really would Henry, but I have so much work to catch up on after today… I most likely will be here till late. You should go home, I’ll be fine.”

“You need a break too, Joey won’t mind…” Henry leaned against his desk, watching him work worriedly

“That’s not what I’m worried about…” he sighed, “I already told everyone in the department to go home early, and I won’t be the reason this short comes out late.”

“Sammy… you deserve time off too… especially after today…”

Sammy opened his mouth to argue but looked to the side with a sigh, “Maybe you're right… but I’m not going to, I have the weekend off, that’s enough for me.”

He wished he had listened to Henry.

That night as he was heading home he had noticed that a light was on in one of the unused rooms, what it was or where it led he had no idea. But as Grant had said multiple times they needed to save as much money as possible, so he went to turn off the light, figuring that Wally had forgotten to turn it off while making his last round of the day.

Inside was Joey, standing over what looked like something out of a horror novel and a big black book in his hands. Sammy stared in shock and slight fear, he had no idea his boss and co worker was an occultist.

“What the hell is all this?”

Joey turned to him, “Sammy! What are you doing here?”

“Working late… what are you doing here?” Sammy's lip curled in offence and confusion

“Well Henry went home early and sadly I couldn’t convince him to stay for this project so I went ahead and did it myself!”

Sammy set down his bag, “What project?”

Joey grinned at him, “Why bringing dreams to life Sammy boy!”

He grimaced, “Don't call me that.”

The estranged man ignored him and quickly ushered him over, “Come see! Come see!”

Sammy begrudgingly complied, cautiously eying the pentagram in the middle of the room. It clearly wasn’t made with blood, which he was grateful for and would have much more frantic questions about the man’s sanity if it were. Instead it looked like ink. Candles were placed at each point of the upside down star, black ones that almost looked like they were made of ink themselves. It gave him an uneasy feeling in his gut.

“Joey-“

“Shhh watch…”

Turning his eyes back to the symbol he watched as a bucket of ink was placed into the middle of it, and much to his displeasure Mr Drew poked his finger with a knife and bled into the bucket. How he never noticed the knife before he dared not to ask. His eyes widened as the ink bubbled as soon as the droplets of blood hit the liquid, like it was an angry animal that feared it and made it boil and burn. He slowly backed away as pipes began bursting above them, the ink growing and molding as if it were alive. He wanted to run, to scream, go get help, do something other than just stand there and watch.

Soon enough everything stopped, he failed to realize he was drenched in ink once more and there were pools of the dark substance all around the room. All he cared about was the lump of ink standing before him with two crudely made horns on top of this strange version of what a body should be. Slowly the inky creature gained limbs and hands, a pasty white face forming on its head. Pie cut eyes and a large grin soon stared at the two, lifeless. Sammy slowly looked at the man next to him in fear and disgust.

“Joey… what the fuck have you done…?” His voice shook

There was a loud pop, like a bubble or balloon bursting, and the inky creature lost its form and dropped back into a puddle. Silence fell over the two men, Joey watching in awe while Sammy wanted to get as far away as possible, not even caring if the madman fired him. Then the puddle twitched, and a tiny shape pulled itself out of the ink. 

Joey was quick to act, stooping down with some sort of cloth and scooping the little thing up, almost cradling it. Sammy watched in horror as he cooed and coddled the little inky form, slowly looking over the man's shoulder, in the cloth was what Sammy could only describe as a hallucination, it couldn't be what he was saying.

"Joey…?"

"It worked…!" He laughed, a smile spreading

"What worked? What have you done?"

Joey turned to him, a tired and delighted look, "I brought Bendy to life…"

Sammy stared as the little thing as it turned to him, pie cut eyes blinking up at him. He felt his blood ran cold as he stared at this small thing before it was suddenly thrusted into his arms, he let out a small grunt of surprise and quickly adjusted his sudden hold on the creature.

"Here take him! Go take him and watch him for a while, teach him things uh show him around so I can clean this!"

"Wait but-"

Joey quickly shoved him out of the room, ink creation and all. He stared down at the curious little thing in his arms that now was digging what felt like claws into his arm and what he could only explain as kneading as it stared up at him. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, what was he going to do? He definitely wasn't going home anytime soon. Shaking his head and letting out another sigh he went back down to his office with the tiny bundle in his arms.

It was quiet down in the music department, and it was dark, he quickly turned the lights back on and walked into his office, closing the door behind him and shutting the blinds on the large window. He sat in his chair and turned the radio on, still holding onto the small new lifeform in his arms, it was strange and surreal. He looked down at the little thing, who looked up at him with that signature grin, a newly sprouted tail waving in the air. He sighed, a soft smile finding his way on his face.

"You are kind of cute…"

Bendy grinned and made a small purring sound, making the musician chuckle and absently rubbed the small horned like nub on his head, the sound the small ink creature was making increased.

"So Joey is insane and a cultist and now you're here… what will we do with you hm?"

Bendy only burbled in response, grinning wider and digging those clawed fingers into his arm more. Sammy shook his head and turned the radio up more, figuring since he was here he would do more work. He noticed the creature in his lap had started moving, turning his attention to the small thing he noticed his little head bobbing along to the music playing, tail tapping against his leg. 

Sammy smiled, watching for a moment before going back to work.

That morning he was shaken awake at his desk by none other than Joey Drew, he groaned and sat up, rubbing his head and glaring at the man grinning at him.

"What…?"

"Come on dont give me that! Look at him!"

Sammy gave him a confused look before the sound of something falling off his desk startled him, looking over he saw Bendy looking at the both with a grin and giggled, having just knocked over a box of papers. He sighed, rubbing his head as he could already feel a headache coming on.

"Yes, you brought him to life, I have come to terms with that. What do you want?"

"People will be here soon, I want you to help introduce the lil fella with me!"

Sammy glared at him, "Why do you need my help?"

"You were there for his creation! Plus I pay your checks."

Sammy snarled softly but stood up, picking up the now larger ink demon like a cat and walking out of his office, "Fine. But I had nothing to do with this occult magic whatever."

Joey seemed content with his answer and followed him outside, people were already out and about, getting ready for the day and putting their stuff away. Sammy hesitated and adjusted his hold on Bendy as he struggled in his arms.

"I don't think this is a good idea..." Sammy glanced back at his boss

"Don't worry about it Sammy, it's fine!"

The composer sighed and nodded, walking out into the main recording area of the music department all while trying to keep the demon still and not climb all over him. 

"Now then, wait here."

Sammy obliged, waiting right outside the door as Joey announced this news. Eventually he walked out, dragging the curious demon out by the hand as the small thing tried to run off and explore. He didn't fail to notice the surprised gasps from the employees or the shocked and some horror filled looks towards Bendy, he had that same reaction. His eyes fell on Henry, who stood on the sidelines and watched with wide eyes as he picked up the small toddler sized ink creature, it hurt to see that reaction from him.

"Welcome to the new age of Joey Drew Studios!" Joey grinned

Over the next two years, things seemed to get worse in Joey's world of how the company would be run. Not only had he created Bendy but now Alice Angel and Boris were in the studio walking around. Bendy had started gaining a voice and mimicking Sammy's attitude towards Joey, and Sammy didn't mind it at all. The little demon seemed to grow fond of the musician, visiting him when he could and spending as much time with him as possible, Sammy of course played it off as something he wasn't happy about but wasn't about to tell the kid to let him work even though he enjoyed spending time even just listening to music while he worked and the demon drew next to him on the floor. But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

At the moment he was walking up to the animation department with a collection of songs, his companion of the small angel trying to keep up behind him, he could lose her trailing him after every written song asking about her next song and recording. He would tell Henry and Bendy that she was almost as bad as Susie was at times. He sighed and looked back at her.

"Can you please try and keep up if you're going to insist on coming with me?"

Alice glared up at him, "You try walking up four flights of stairs in heels Sammy, then talk to be about keeping up."

"Ever since Joey brought you toons into this world you do nothing but complain and try an boss me around, you think you run the place!" He sighed and rolled his eyes, "I'll have you know that I have worked here for years so drop the attitude and show some respect Angel."

She snorted, "Whatever you say Lawrence."

He glared and kept going up the stairs and opened the door to the animation department, as soon as he did the sound of yelling could be heard. Sammy chuckled as he watched from the stairwell Bendy chewing out Joey in the heat of anger.

"YOU LOST THE STORYBOARDS?! Joey!!! You can't be serious! You said yourself we need those files!! Don't ya just stand here an tell me ya lost them!"

Joey was tense and his jaw clenched, and Sammy for a moment was worried Joey would do something to the demon. He approached the two and touched Bendy's shoulder with a very small smile. The demon turned to him with wide eyes that turned desperate as he gripped onto the lanky composer.

"Sammy! Give me some good news..!"

Sammy noticed that the ink demon was dripping ink badly, ink starting to cover his face, horns bending inwards in obvious distress.

"Relax… I got a couple songs done."

Bendy gave him a relieved look and leaned into him, relaxing into him and getting ink on his clothes, not that he minded at the moment, "Thanks Sam…"

Sammy smiled gently and pat his back, taking a look around he could tell that everyone was on edge, Joey had slipped away somehow and he found his attention drawn to the lead animator, bent over the desk he always worked at and scribbling away on some paper. He made his way over to the man after calming down the small demon, smiling and leaning over the desk to gain the others attention.

"Hello there Mr. Ross."

Henry jumped slightly and looked up at him, a grin quickly forming on his face, "Sammy! Wonderful timing, I was about to take a lunch break, would you like to join me?"

Sammy could only chuckle, nodding in agreement, "Alright, where to?"

"Same place as always?"

"We went there the other night Henry, we can't go there twice in two days."

Henry hummed in agreement, "What about that new diner down the road? We haven't tried that one yet."

He nodded, "Lead the way."  
Henry smiled and stood, grabbing his wallet from his bag and went out towards the studio entrance, Sammy followed close behind. The two easily slipped out unnoticed, Sammy slipping to the animators side easily. Henry smiled softly and gently took the taller man's hand into his own, Sammy tensed slightly, warily eyeing the empty streets before looking at the man in a small but loving smile. Henry squeezed the hand before letting go.

"You don't have to worry if no one is around…" He said softly

"I know… I would rather not take a chance though…"

Henry smiled gently, "I understand… Come on, we're almost there."

Sammy smiled and followed him inside the diner, making their way to the bar seats in front of the kitchen, Sammy let out a small sigh as he sat. 

"So… What's it like having that ink demon around?"

Henry laughed, "Bendy? He's alright, better than Joey, and he reminds me of you."

"Is that so?"

He nodded, "At least he can get work done, people listen to him."

"Aren't you and Joey tight knit?" Sammy asked regarding him closely

"Well yes, in a way I suppose… We started this company together afterall in college." Henry chuckled dryly, "After making so many characters for him it's gotten tiring… Bendy isn't even the same anymore since I first made him."

"You made Bendy?" 

"I did, though he changed his design to what it is now." He sighed

"I always assumed that he made him." Sammy admitted

Henry nodded, "He's good at that, I think Bendy himself doesn't even know."

Sammy hummed, noticing the light dimming in the man's eyes, "Why don't you do anything?"

He looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"He is your character after all, you could sue him if you wanted."

"And ruin the company? I couldn't do that to the people working there, or the toons." Henry smiled sadly, "Besides, Bendy's the company's character now…"

Sammy frowned, glancing away with a small sigh, "Alright… you know, I read the news this morning before heading in, they say that the wars getting worse."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better or worse?" Henry smiled slightly

"I'm trying to distract you from work. Excuse me for making an effort!" Sammy grinned slightly

Henry chuckled, "Well, I suppose Kenedy is making tough decisions about it."

"Makes you never want to be president…" He hummed with a small smile

"Every single kid's dreams have been shattered." Henry grinned, making the other chuckle

He cleared his throat, noticing the other staring at him with an adoring look, his face flushed lightly and he glared at him, straightening himself.

"What are you looking at?"

"Sorry I just noticed something about you."

"And that was?"

Henry only chuckled, smiling and looking away. Sammy rolled his eyes and waited quietly for the two's lunch to arrive, trying his best to ignore the cheeky glances from his partner next to him. He would have thought that after two years these sorts of things would be more normal for him, yet that didn't stop his heart from fluttering and a blush spreading across his face. When food came the two sat in comfortable silence, something that the both had found they preferred over holding a conversation through the meal, it was something Sammy had appreciated about Henry. He finished his meal and placed some money on the counter before turning to the animator.

"Ready to go?"

"No." Henry smiled slightly

"Come on, before Joey comes and finds us himself and embarasses the whole industry."

Henry snorted a laugh before following the musician out of the restaurant, smiling up at him. Sammy couldn't help but smile at the bubbly face that stared up at him, resisting the urge to just give such a sweet man a kiss right there and then.   
"So… you never answered my question."

"Which was?"

"Why you were staring at me, what you noticed about me."

Henry smiled, "You have an adorable laugh."

Sammy almost choked on nothing, his face darkening instantly as he stared at the smaller man with wide eyes, making the other laugh at his surprise. He was at an absolute loss of words for a good moment before quickly hurrying after the animator all while trying to compose his flustered state.

"Henry!!"


End file.
